We also spent time in Bears Ears National Monument, named for this pair of buttes, which are sacred to native tribes in the area. The monument was established by President Obama, downsized by President Trump, and restored by President Biden. It is one of the richest archaeological landscapes in the nation, with rock art, dwellings and other sites — representing nearly 12,000 years of human history — in just about every canyon and on every mesa top.
Sand Island petroglyph panel, on the San Juan River outside of Bluff, Utah.
We cut short our canyon explorations when daytime temps rose into the 90s, and took refuge at higher elevation in the Manti-La Sal National Forest.
